Monthly Archives: March 2017

It has been one year and one month since I started this website that focuses on real world applications of digital health. I have had a lot of fun creating a this site and creating an online conversation about digital health.

The most exciting aspect of the website has been to see all the different areas of the world I have visitors to my website. This March has been my 3rd best month in terms of total views. While the majority of the views come from the USA, I have also had visitors this month from Brazil, Serbia, India, Venezuala, Belgium, Jordan and Spain.

I would love to hear from anyone outside the US about what digital and mobile health looks like in your country. Add a comment to this article, or email me at dranderson@drmatthewanderson.com or reach out on twitter @DrAnderson19.

Like this:

What it is: A mobile evidence based medical app for determining the need for aspirin therapy in heart disease

What devices: Apple and Android devices

Cost: Free

Who should use it: mostly physicians but also patients interested in knowing more about preventing heart disease

Why use it: The decision to use low-dose aspirin for the primary prevention of heart disease can sometimes be a difficult decision. Physicians need to weight the benefit of aspirin against the risks of gastrointestinal problems. However beneficial aspirin can be, daily intake of an aspirin can lead to abdominal pain, gastritis and gastrointestinal bleeding.

From a group of physicians at Harvard comes the Aspirin Guide app. This app takes the most relevant evidence based guidelines to help in the decision making process. Using ASCVD risk score and guidelines from the US Preventive Task Force, the app walks you through a series of questions about a patients medical history. These include health factors such as smoking status, systolic blood pressure and cholesterol level.

The app then creates a recommendation based on those health factors. What is really interesting about the apps recommendation it breaks down why it has that recommendation. It provides the data on Number Needed to Treat (NNT) and Number Needed to Harm (NNH). Physicians can really see where the risks are and how they compare to each other. Its also a good way to discuss the risks and benefits with your patient. There are also links to the medical journal articles for physicians to review as well.

This is a screen shot of the final results after inputting all the patients pertinent data.

These are the articles the created the foundation for the Aspirin Guide App.

I would caution any patient using this app, not to start or stop low dose aspirin therapy just using the app alone. Use the information to start a discussion with your personal physician. You can even email the results with NNT and NNH to your physician but do not adjust your own aspirin regimen without consulting a physician.